Foreign Exchange
by IrishDipstick
Summary: The Gibbs family have a visitor from the UK. Warning, will contain spanking or corporal punishment of minors. Don't like, don't read.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 1**

Taylor's rapidly increasing 'lack of effort' with her school work over the past few weeks, resulted in her having to do her homework in the kitchen again, under either her mom or dad's watchful eye. Up until the big show down the night before, Taylor had no idea that her mom was onto her, and had been kinda pissed about the surprise confrontation. Pissed or not, the outcome had been the same and it was now a case of buckle down or else! Yeah it rankled, but the 'or else' was enough to have her sitting in the kitchen now, homework spread out in front of her.

"If you'd spend less time scowling and more time thinking Taylor you'd be finished by now." Jethro had been watching his daughter forcing herself to answer the questions. He wondered how Patricia had the patience to teach. It was hard enough getting Taylor to spend as little as half an hour on her homework, never mind the whole day.

"I am thinking!" She just couldn't tell him what. "Where's mom anyway?" At least she didn't watch every pencil stroke.

"Meeting at the school."

"Meeting about what? They gonna close it down?" Now that would be cool.

Jethro closed the magazine he'd been flicking through and held his hand out. "Afraid not. Let's see how much you've done so far."

Taylor passed him the page of math problems and he scanned it quickly. There were only three questions left, but the kid was perfectly capable of dragging them out until bedtime. It was time for a little persuasion. "If you finish before your mom gets back you can watch the DVD Tony lent you."

"Really?" She'd thought Highlander was going to have to wait until the weekend.

He nodded.

Taylor chewed the top of her pencil as she quickly answered the remaining questions, before grabbing the DVD from the counter. Just about to leave the room, Taylor hesitated when she noticed her dad checking the answers. "They're right dad! Don't you wanna see the movie? Tony says it's good. It's got swords in it!" It was more fun watching a film with someone else.

"Swords huh?" He didn't want to disappoint her. "Suppose I better watch it then."

O

Patricia made it home just after Taylor had gone up to bed. She dropped onto the couch beside her husband.

Jethro put his arm around her and pulled her closer. "Tough day?"

She sighed. "Long day."

"Did you get the problem with the student exchange programme sorted out?" He felt her shift nervously, very like the way Taylor did when she was feeling guilty. It spoke volumes.

He figured he'd make it easy for her. "I take it we're going to have a house guest for a while."

"Do you mind?" She asked nervously.

"Hmmmmm ..that depends."

"On what?"

"On how you're gonna make it up to me." He felt her relax.

Patricia reached for one of the buttons on his shirt, opening it before slipping her hand in. "What do you have in mind?"

Jethro let out an involuntary gasp when hand met skin, then grinned down at her. "I'm sure I'll think of something."

O

The following morning at breakfast Taylor was full of questions. It was a pleasant change from her normal litany of complaints about school.

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

That got Jethro's attention, he hadn't even thought to ask that.

Patricia didn't miss the little panic attack. "Relax Jethro it's a girl. She's sixteen and from London."

"How come she's gotta stay with us?" Taylor reached for another slice of toast. "And what's her name?"

"Her name's Jennifer, Jennifer Emerson, and she was supposed to be staying with another student, but they had to pull out of the programme at the last minute." Patricia passed her the peanut butter. "There is some bad news though."

Taylor looked suspiciously at her mom. She was not givin' up her bedroom. "What?"

"We have to leave school early today to pick her up from the airport."

A huge smile spread across Taylor's face. "That is bad, but I think I can live with that one."

"Wouldn't it be a better idea to pick her up on your way back from the airport?" Jethro risked peeking over the top of his newspaper.

He was met with a glare that would rival one of his own. "Maybe not!" Jethro decided it was time to make a quick exit, and two kisses later he was safely on his way to work.

O

Sitting in the back of her mom's car Taylor watched the girl in the front passenger seat with interest. Jennifer looked like one of the models out of Vicky's magazines, long blonde hair and green eyes. Taylor had been surprised when the girl had introduced herself at the airport. Jennifer's height, combined with her confidence gave the impression she was much older than her sixteen years. They probably wouldn't have a lot in common, but Jennifer seemed to be nice and Taylor was not picking up any psycho vibes the way she had with Megan.

As soon as they reached the house Taylor made a beeline for her bedroom, dumping her backpack and changing quickly into her jeans. This was too good an opportunity to pass up. While her mom was getting Jennifer settled in the spare room Taylor slipped quietly out of the house, intent on meeting Jason on his way back from school. She could always do her homework later, or tomorrow morning, or even better, just forget about it altogether.

Jason was both surprised and pleased to find Taylor waiting for him outside the school gates. "They finally kick you out of that fancy school?"

"I wish!" Taylor returned his grin. "So what're we gonna do?"

He shrugged. "You checked out the new arcade yet?"

"Come on, you know I'm not allowed to go to arcades." It did sound tempting though.

"What about the mall? We could check out the latest PS3 releases."

That sounded like a much safer option. Taylor nodded, there might be new demos they could try out and that was almost as good as the arcade.

O

Having almost twenty minutes until her curfew, they were just about to take up their normal positions on the small wall surrounding Jason's front yard when Taylor found herself being summoned home by her dad. He stood just outside the front door as she checked her watch. Nope, it hadn't stopped.

"I'm not late dad!" Taylor yelled over to him as she sat down, assuming he would go back inside. He did not. Instead he strode towards her.

"Shit! Gotta go Jason." Taylor quickly pushed herself back up again.

When she started to walk towards him Jethro stopped and waited for her to reach him.

Stopping about five feet away, Taylor shoved her hands defensively into her pockets. "What'd I do?"

Her dad didn't answer the question, just nodded towards the open front door. "In!"

Taylor walked past him, and lost some of her concern when, instead of swatting he fell into step behind her. Her dad might be annoyed, but not as angry as she'd originally thought.

She tried again as soon as the door closed behind them. "What ever it is I didn't do it!"

Patricia appeared in the hallway. "We know you didn't. You _didn't_ do your homework, you _didn't _tell me that you were going out and you _didn't _tell me where you were going!"

Trying to look suitably ashamed Taylor apologised. "Sorry, I only went to meet Jason, and I'll do my homework after dinner. That seemed to appease her mom a little. Her dad, not so much.

"Uh huh, you will. You'll do it properly, and you won't drag it out. As soon as you're done you can go to bed."

He stepped aside to let her past, and Taylor considered it a quite a victory as she entered the kitchen unscathed.

O

If Jennifer knew how to do something, it was talk. She never stopped. It was a miracle she actually had time to eat anything at dinner. Everything from her expensive boarding school, to the horses her parents owned were described in detail. Taylor lost interest after five minutes and zoned out, but her mom was eagerly soaking up the information. She glanced at her dad, he was bored too and she'd bet her allowance that he was trying to work out when he could escape to the basement. It was Taylor who presented him with the opportunity. The second she had placed her knife and fork down Jethro made his move.

He stood up. "Right, homework Taylor. You can bring it down to the basement where I can keep an eye on you!"

Pouting, Taylor left her mom and Jennifer still talking about life in the UK and went to fetch her bag. There had to be someway round this homework thing, and one of these days she was gonna figure out what it was.

Flamin' typical Taylor thought as she watched her dad sanding his latest project, the night she had to go to bed early the homework was relatively short. Still if she was faced with a choice between bed or school work she'd pick bed any day.

"Dad?"

He didn't look round. "Uh huh?"

Sidling over to him, Taylor reached out to feel the grain of the wood. "Do I really have to go to bed now? I could always help you instead."

Gibbs checked his watch, it was only eight o'clock, and she could of dragged her homework out a lot longer. He passed her a square of sandpaper. "Half an hour, then bed."

Taylor's face lit up. You'd have thought he'd just handed her the keys to a new car.

They sanded in silence for a while, Taylor concentrating hard on going with the grain until her mind drifted back to their house guest.

"Mom likes Jennifer huh?"

"Yep. You don't mind that do you?"

Taylor shook her head. "No. Mom can take her shopping instead of me, I think Jennifer would like shopping. Is she rich?"

"No. Her parents are."

"Oh."

"Money's not everything Taylor."

"I know. It must really suck having to live at school, even if you do have a horse." Taylor couldn't think of many things that would be worse.

Jethro grinned. "Your school doesn't seem so bad now does it?"

There was no way Taylor was going to agree with that statement. "I don't have a horse."

"You don't want a horse."

"No, but a dirt bike would be good."

He took the sandpaper from her hand and turned her to face the stairs. "No dirt bike! Bed."

Taylor stopped half way up the steps. "Aren't you even gonna negotiate?"

"Alright, I can do that. I'll get you a dirt bike if you agree to go to boarding school."

O

"NO WAY!" The kitchen echoed with Taylor's protest.

"Taylor, Abby's busy on Friday night." Patricia had expected some resistance, but not this much. "You like it when Tony comes over to babysit."

"I'm not a baby, and Tony's fine, but Cathy, no way!" Taylor pushed her plate away, she'd suddenly lost her appetite.

Jethro slid the plate back in front of his daughter. "Watch the temper Taylor." He warned.

Taylor stopped glaring at her mom and focused on her plate instead.

"Who's Cathy?" Jennifer ventured. Taylor's reaction had made her curious.

"She's a complete bit…OW!" Rubbing her thigh, Taylor shifted her chair a little further away from her father.

"What Taylor was trying to say Jennifer, is that Cathy is Tony's girlfriend."

"Yeah, and she's still a complete bitc …OW!" Taylor had underestimated how long her dad's arm was.

"Last chance Taylor!" Jethro was not going to warn her again.

Recognising the potential of the situation Jennifer spoke. "I can stay with Taylor if you want."

"You don't have to do that Jennifer, I know you were planning on going out too." Patricia didn't want the girl's night ruined.

"I was only going to meet up with Amanda, and she could always come round here." An empty house would be good.

"What do you think Jethro?" Patricia was leaving the decision up to her husband.

All eyes were on him. It probably was in Cathy's best interest if they weren't forced to spend time with each other. God only knew what Taylor would do if Cathy rubbed her up the wrong way. Jennifer did seem to have her head screwed on, and they'd only be a phone call away. "That depends on Taylor. You gonna do what Jennifer tells you to do, and go to bed on time?"

Anything was better than having Cathy bossing her around all night. "Sure."

Jethro nodded. "You better not make me regret this Taylor."

Grinning, Taylor picked up her fork again. "Course I won't dad."


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 2**

Taylor was still trying to figure out how she'd ended up following Jennifer round the mall on Thursday after school. When her mom had told her that she had to stay behind for a meeting, Taylor had fully intended to go to NCIS. Then Jennifer had suggested shopping and before Taylor had the chance to object, her mom was bundling them both into the car to drop them off. The only thing she could hope for now was that Jennifer was a fast shopper.

Unfortunately she was not. Fed up, Taylor leant against a counter and waited for Jennifer to check out every item in the store, the way she had in the last four.

Jennifer noticing that Taylor was not by her side, set down the pair of sunglasses she had been looking at and made her way back to her. "What's wrong? Don't you like shopping?"

Taylor shook her head. "It's boring."

"Make it more interesting then." Jennifer scanned the store before pulling Taylor over to a revolving display, filled with necklaces and bracelets. "Watch." The teenager lifted a number of bracelets, holding them up to compare them before slipping a few onto her wrist to check the size and feel. "What do you think?"

This was supposed to be more exciting? "They're alright."

Jennifer smiled at her before replacing them on the rack. "We'll try somewhere else then." She didn't speak again until they were clear of the store. "Now you can't say that was boring."

"What do you mean?" It wasn't any different than before.

Grinning, Jennifer held out her wrist, revealing a colourful beaded bracelet.

Shocked, Taylor looked up at her. "You stole it?"

"Ah yeah!"

It didn't make any sense. "But why didn't you just buy it? You have loads of money!"

"Where's the fun in that? It's a challenge, not to mention one hell of an adrenalin rush!"

Convinced one of the mall cops was about to pounce, Taylor looked around nervously. "You ever been caught?"

"Once, but that was a long time ago. All I had to do was cry and offer to pay for it. Men are a sucker for tears."

"And that was it?" Sounded a bit too easy to Taylor.

"That was it." Putting her arm around Taylor's shoulders, Jennifer guided her to another store. "Now there's a few things you need to know if you want you to give it a try."

O

Taylor watched Jennifer in action. No one had even looked in her direction as she stole item after item. In one store the security guard even held the door open for them as they left, Jennifer wearing the ring she'd just acquired. Even watching the girl in action had the adrenalin rushing through Taylor's system, heart pumping fast. She wanted to try, just to see if she could do it, but on the other hand she didn't want to get caught.

"You ready to have a go?" Jennifer asked, not sure if the kid had the guts.

Shaking her head 'no' Taylor tried to come up with some sort of excuse.

Jennifer gave her a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry about it, you don't have to do it if you're scared."

"I'm not scared!" She lied.

"Don't you want to find out what it feels like?"

"Kinda." Taylor admitted.

"So what's stopping you?"

"Nothing." She still didn't move.

"Alright, I'm not going to force you, just forget about it. We had better be getting back anyway." Jennifer turned towards the main door.

"No. Wait!" She had to be crazy. "I'll do it."

Glancing nervously up and down the aisle Taylor tried to decide what to take. She was no closer to making up her mind when Jennifer beckoned her over to a display of inexpensive rings.

"Now don't rush it, and whatever you do, don't panic."

Convincing herself that she would return it later, Taylor began searching through the rings, slipping one onto her thumb as she did so. Then her brain seemed to freeze, along with her legs.

Recognizing panic when she saw it, Jennifer tried to snap her out of it. "Will you hurry up, we're going to be late!"

Taylor followed her lead. "Alright, I'm coming!" She dropped the rest of the rings into the basket and headed for the open door.

They only managed a couple of steps through the door when Taylor's conscience kicked in. She had to put it back. Spinning round Taylor walked straight into a uniformed security guard.

O

"Come on Taylor. It's not that bad! At least they're not going to charge you." Jennifer tried to calm her down. The man had believed Taylor when she told him she was going to replace it, but he wasn't willing to let them walk out of here on their own.

"Not that bad? Are you crazy? My mom and dad are gonna freak! I think I'd rather go to jail!" Taylor took another panicked look around the small room. "You sure the door's locked?"

Jennifer pushed her back down into the chair. "It's still locked. Look, I'm really sorry. If you want I'll take the blame. I'll tell your mom and dad I made you do it. Or I tricked you into thinking I'd already paid for it."

Taylor appreciated the offer, but there was no way in hell they were gonna go for that. Shit, shit, shit! She made an attempt at a smile. "Thanks, but they can tell if I'm lying from a mile away, then we'd both be in trouble." She kicked at the table leg. "If they let you pay for it why didn't they just let us go?"

Jennifer shrugged. "Suppose he doesn't want you to try it again, besides its too late to try and change their minds, they've already called your dad."

That was something Taylor did not need to be reminded of. She couldn't hear what her dad had said on the other end of the phone, but from the expression on the security guard's face it can't have been good.

When Jethro's voice could be clearly heard on the other side of the door Taylor's eyes automatically locked on the door handle. As soon as it moved downwards Taylor stood up and put herself safely behind Jennifer.

The room was so quiet she risked a peek to see if her dad was actually there. He was, and the man was clearly upset. No, not upset, furious was a much more accurate description.

"Let's go." Jethro didn't even wait to see if they followed, as he strode out through the maze of small offices and into the mall.

Almost running to keep up, Jennifer was starting to understand why Taylor had been worried. She'd never seen anyone that angry before. Her own father wouldn't have batted an eyelid if she'd been in Taylor's position. For some completely illogical reason Jennifer felt a little jealous. You would need to freeze her father's bank accounts to get his attention.

O

As they pulled into the driveway and parked behind Patricia's car Taylor looked as if she was about to burst into tears, so Jennifer reached over and took her hand. She was rewarded with a small smile.

Taylor's smile quickly disappeared when her father opened the car door and pulled her out. Keeping a firm grip on her arm he waited for to Jennifer to climb out before escorting the pair inside.

"What's going on?" Patricia watched as the two girls nervously entered the living room, and jumped along with them, as the front door was slammed shut.

Hanging her head, Taylor couldn't look at her, never mind tell her what she'd done. Jennifer, not quite sure what was going on, or what to do, stayed silent as well.

Jethro now minus his overcoat stormed into the room stopping just in front of Taylor. He didn't take his eyes off her as he answered his wife. "I just had to pick up the Artful Dodger here from the mall."

Patricia was on her feet now too. "Taylor, tell me you didn't!"

"I'm sorry." Taylor whispered. "I was gonna put it back."

"That's true." Jennifer tried to explain. "Taylor was going back into the store when the security guard grabbed her. That's why he let her go." Speaking had been a mistake. Now Taylor's parents were both staring at her.

"You knew Taylor was stealing, and didn't try to stop her?" Jethro moved closer to Jennifer.

Taylor answered for her. "That's not how it was dad!

"THEN WHAT WAS IT TAYLOR? WHAT DID YOU WANT SO BADLY THAT YOU HAD TO STEAL TO GET IT?"

"It was just a dumb mood ring and I didn't want it. I already told you I was gonna put it back!"

"If you didn't want the ring why did you steal it?" Patricia was rapidly running out of patience.

Taylor shrugged. "I was bored."

That was not the answer either of her parents were looking for and both reached for her at the same time. Her mom won, and rewarded herself by applying two sharp smacks to Taylor's behind.

"Haven't we been through all this before, when you decided to ram our shopping cart into a display?"

Trying to blink away the tears her mom's hand had just produced, she shook her head. "Wasn't like that either. I just wanted to see if I could do it."

The silence her explanation produced scared Taylor more than the shouting had.

Eventually her dad spoke. "Even though you knew it was wrong?"

Taylor had understood when Jennifer had explained it earlier, why couldn't they?

"ANSWER ME!"

"Yes. That's what made it ….. interesting." They didn't look any happier. "Quit lookin' like that I'm not gonna do it again!"

"You got that right." Jethro turned to Jennifer. "You had nothing to do with this?"

Taylor, aware she was gonna get it anyway, stomped her foot. "I can think for myself ya know! If it's anyone's fault its mom's for makin' me go in the first place!"

Having a good idea what her father's reaction was going to be Taylor was not surprised when he pulled her towards the couch, sat down and tipped her over his knee. Jennifer was gonna owe her big time. The instinct to struggle was too strong, even though she knew there was no chance of escape.

Holding her easily in place Jethro nodded towards the kitchen, and waited until Patricia led Jennifer out of the room before flipping her skirt up.

"I told you I was sorry dad, I won't do it again!" Why the hell couldn't he just take her word for it and leave it at that?

"I understand you were curious Taylor. Now you're going to find out what happens when you do something so stupid, not to mention illegal. You could have ended up with a criminal record, is that what you wanted?"

"No." Taylor was sure Abby could sort that out for her anyway, a few clicks and it would disappear, but now was not the time to mention that. Feeling her dad's grip on her loosen she tried to push herself up. All she got for her effort was a slap on her bare thigh. Taylor was also learning that wearing a skirt had its drawbacks.

Jethro had said enough. There was only one way to get the message through to his impulsive daughter. Slipping her shorts down he brought his hand down with a loud crack on her backside.

Taylor yelped and fought her way through the first half a dozen swats, before starting to cry. She was beginning to regret taking all the blame. He might only be using his hand but it was more than enough to set her ass on fire. Just when Taylor thought the spanking was almost over, her father picked up the pace and aimed lower, peppering her sit spots with sharp smacks. He was making his point perfectly. There was no way in the world Taylor was going to experiment with shoplifting again, no matter what the adrenalin rush was like. With that thought foremost in her mind she barely noticed her dad had stopped and relaxed his grip on her. She did however notice when he replaced her underwear and immediately pushed herself up. Shorts were so not good right now.

Trying to ease the burn, Taylor shifted her weight from one foot to the other. It wasn't helping. At least her dad didn't look quite so angry anymore.

She dried her face on the sleeve of her shirt and looked at him sheepishly. "It was kinda dumb. I'm sorry."

"Uh huh." Jethro pulled her close enough to wrap his arms around her.

"I really wasn't gonna keep it." It was important to her, that he didn't think she was a thief.

"I know. That's the only reason I didn't use my belt. If it happens again I won't be quite so understanding. Got it?"

"I got it." After that spanking Taylor couldn't help but get it.

"You're also grounded for two weeks." He felt her sigh but she didn't object.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Maybe you should ground me from the mall too ya know, just to be on the safe side, I don't think I'm cut out for shopping."


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 3**

Jennifer looked towards the closed kitchen door from where she was sitting at the table. "What's he going to do to her?"

"Don't look so worried Jennifer, he's just going to spank her." Patricia scooped some coffee into the machine and switched it on.

"Spank her?" If she'd have known that, she never have encouraged the kid. Jennifer was actually quite shocked. "He's going to hit her? We're not living in the dark ages!"

"Taylor knew there would be consequences when she made the decision to take the ring." Patricia turned to face her. "Haven't you ever been spanked before?"

Jennifer flinched when she heard Jethro start to spank. "No." She wanted to run, or at least cover her ears. Each cry from Taylor produced a nasty blow to her conscience.

"So what happens when you get into trouble."

"Nothing." Jennifer admitted.

"Nothing?" That was hard to believe. Alright Jennifer spent most of her time at boarding school, but still someone had to take an interest in what she was up to.

Jennifer thought again. "My dad took my credit card away once because I stayed out all night, but I think he was more upset because he had to donate money to the school to stop them suspending me."

After a minute or two, the noise from the living room stopped, but it was a good ten minutes before the door opened and Jethro stormed into the kitchen.

o

Jethro didn't make his usual stop at the coffee pot before he confronted Jennifer. "How does it feel to sit in here and let Taylor take full responsibility for what happened?"

Jennifer blushed and stared at the table.

"What do you mean Jethro?" What had she missed? Patricia put a hand on his arm to calm him down. "Taylor admitted everything. You know how she can get when she's bored."

"I know, but it doesn't make any sense." He paused to glare at Jennifer. "If she was that bored she just would have given Jennifer the slip and hightailed it out of there. There's no way Taylor would have stolen anything without some other form of motivation." He put both hands on the table and leaned in closer to the girl. "So what was it? A dare? A bet? Or did you tease her by telling her she was too scared to try?"

Jennifer tensed.

"You did. You goaded her into it!

"Jennifer?" Patricia pulled out the chair beside her and sat down.

"I'm sorry! I only wanted to make it more exciting for her. I didn't think she would feel guilty and try to take the ring back."

"Were you shoplifting too?" Patricia asked, already knowing the answer.

Jennifer nodded ever so slightly.

Jethro took a chair opposite. "Empty your pockets."

Jennifer hesitated.

"Do you want me to do it for you?"

She shook her head. "No." Slowly standing up, Jennifer emptied one pocket at a time. When she had finished there was quite a selection of items on the table. None of them obtained honestly.

"You have receipts for these?"

"No. I stole all of it." Everyone seemed to be making such a big deal about shoplifting, Jennifer was actually starting to feel guilty about the stealing aspect, not just getting Taylor into trouble.

"Taylor watched you?" Patricia asked.

Jennifer reached out and lifted the bracelet from the pile, absently feeling the texture of the beads. "Yes. I wanted to show her how to do it."

"Why?" Patricia took the bracelet from her and returned it to the pile.

Jennifer looked at her, puzzled. "Why what?"

Patricia pointed to the little stash. "You can easily afford all of this, so why steal it? "

She shrugged. "Because I can."

"Well, from now on you can't. It stops now." Jethro was still fighting to keep control of his temper.

"Why? What difference does it make to you what I do?"

"We don't want to see you getting into trouble Jennifer" Patricia glared at her husband warning him to calm down. He seemed to get the message.

Jennifer pulled her credit card out of the inside pocket of her blazer which was hanging over the back of her chair and slid it across the table towards Jethro.

"What's that for?"

Patricia, realising what Jennifer was doing, put a hand on her shoulder. "I need to have a word with Jethro, could you wait in the living room please?"

Grateful for the opportunity to escape she nodded. Leaving the card on the table Jennifer, left them to decide her fate.

"What's going on?"

Patricia lifted the card. "This is how Jennifer is normally punished. Her dad takes this off her for a while."

"How's that going to work this time?" He stared at the little piece of plastic. "She doesn't need that if she can just steal whatever she wants, and what the hell is a sixteen year old doing with a credit card anyway?"

"I understand that Jethro, and I have a good idea what you're going to do. Just keep it in mind, that's all."

Jethro took the card from his wife and headed into the living room.

O

Jennifer gave off an aura of calm as she sat waiting. Waiting for what, she wasn't sure, but her outward appearance was at odds with how she was really feeling. It always was. Inside, Jennifer was just a scared little girl. A lifetime of insecurity, fear and rejection had that little girl curled up tight, just waiting for the next blow. She wanted to run, but not from where she was right now. She wanted to run from herself. There was only one way she could do that, and subconsciously Jennifer's hand went to the inside of her upper arm, fingers tracing the fine scars underneath the fabric of her shirt. She closed her eyes, visualising the blade as it cut into skin. Pain driving everything else from her mind and providing what she craved for most. Escape.

"You okay?"

Jennifer jumped at the voice. She hadn't even heard the man come onto the room. In an instant her shields were back up. "Yes."

Jethro handed her the credit card back and sat down beside her.

She was confused. "Aren't you going to punish me?"

"Yes, but that's not how we do things."

"Then how?" He was going to ground her?

"The same way I deal with Taylor."

The image of Taylor over his knee flashed through her head. "I don't think so!"

"Fair enough! I won't. Not if you give me an acceptable reason why you should be treated any differently."

Jennifer stared at the Jethro. "You're not serious are you?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"You are! If that's the case I'll start packing." She stood up and had just turned away when he spoke again. "Don't you feel guilty?"

That hit a nerve. Getting Taylor into trouble was already eating her up. Something else to add to her long list of failures. "Of course I feel guilty. I didn't mean to hurt anyone, least of all Taylor." She whispered, more to herself than to Jethro.

"So why are you trying to avoid taking responsibility for your actions?"

She turned to face him, not sure what he was getting at. "What do you mean? I can't turn back the clock, so what else am I supposed to do?"

"Why do you think I spanked Taylor?"

Thinking it was a trick question Jennifer hesitated, but when he seemed to be waiting for her to reply, she answered. "Because you were angry."

Jethro shook his head. "I was angry, but that's not why I spanked her."

"Then why?" She was lost.

"Taylor knew what she was doing was wrong, but she did it anyway. The next time she's in that position I want her to remember the spanking and hopefully she'll decide it's not worth the consequences. So it's not only a punishment, it's also a deterrent." He let that sink in before continuing. "Once the punishment is over, that's it. She can move on, she's paid the price and she doesn't have to feel guilty any more. All she has to do is try to make the right choice next time."

"So you're not angry with her anymore?"

He shook his head. "No. It's like you said, I can't turn back the clock either. I can only help Taylor make the right decision in the future."

Jennifer couldn't believe she was actually considering letting the man spank her, but what he said about the guilt had struck home. The guilt was already eating her up, and the chance to ease that was tempting. It might just be worth the embarrassment and it couldn't hurt that much, could it?

Jethro watched the girl struggling with her conscience. He knew she regretted what she'd done, every time he'd mentioned Taylor the guilt had been clear, not only in her expression, but her body language too.

"Okay." Jennifer's mouth was dry so the word was barely audible, but Taylor's dad heard it and nodded.

Standing up Jethro held out his hand and waited for Jennifer to come to him. When she put her hand in his he sat down and gently eased her over his lap. Unlike his daughter, Jennifer did not struggle or put up a fight. "Why are you getting this spanking?"

Still trying to adjust to the strange position Jennifer didn't answer.

"Jennifer we're not going to get this over with until you understand why I'm doing this."

"Because I made Taylor steal."

"What else?"

Her mind went blank. What else was there? "I don't know."

"Think."

"I didn't do anything else to her."

"It has nothing to do with Taylor."

"Oh." Then it struck her. "You mean because I was shoplifting?"

"That's it. You're better than that Jennifer, you know it's wrong, and every time you do it you're just hurting yourself. Do you understand?"

She did. What Jennifer didn't understand was why he cared how she felt. She nodded.

Jethro lifted her skirt out of the way and brought his hand down on her cotton panties. The girl jumped but remained silent.

Jennifer was actually shocked when she felt the first smack. It stung a hell of a lot more than she'd expected. Her brain had just enough time to process the information before another slap landed a little bit lower than the first. Then another and another. All she could think about was the burn slowly building up on her backside, but she was determined not to cry. When Jethro lowered his left leg a little and raised his right to target her sensitive sit spots, Jennifer forgot all about not wanting to make any noise, and began to whimper. A few more swats had her openly crying. Then just when she thought she couldn't take any more, he stopped and instead of smacking, she felt him gently rubbing her back. This made her cry even harder. The punishment she'd expected, but not the comfort. He hadn't lied, he really wasn't angry with her anymore.

When she'd calmed down a little Jethro helped her up, then stood up himself, pulling her in close. At first he thought Jennifer was going to push him away, but she rested her head on his chest, not saying anything, just taking ragged little intakes of breath. He held her there until Jennifer felt calm enough to step away and passed her a tissue. 'Think you'll live?"

Jennifer nodded, embarrassed by her inability to control her emotions.

"Do you feel any better now?" He was genuinely curious and hoped he'd read the kid right.

That was the strange thing, apart from the throbbing in her behind she actually did feel a bit better. Maybe it was because she knew no one was angry with her now. Still not trusting herself to speak she nodded again.

"Good." He grinned at her. "Now everything's sorted you can go wash up, we'll be eating soon, and believe me you don't want Taylor to get to the food first."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters.

_Before you read this I need to apologise to everyone who took the time to review. The middle of this chapter had me completely stuck, so it has taken a lot longer than normal for me to post. Normally I reply just before I post, but when I tried today I was too late and the links were out of date. So, thanks for all the reviews, they really do help, and I'll try to reply faster in the future, I promise._

**C****hapter 4**

Jennifer climbed the stairs slowly, still trying to come to terms with what had just happened. It wasn't easy to think though, the heat in her backside was hard to ignore. Closing the bedroom door, Jennifer jumped when she realised she wasn't alone. Taylor was sprawled out on her bed, face down, head propped up in her hands.

"You okay?"

"What do you mean?" How did she know what had happened?

Taylor blushed. "Sorry. I was goin' downstairs earlier and I sorta heard." She shifted over a little on the bed to give Jennifer some room.

"Oh." Jennifer wasn't sure what to say, so she lay down beside Taylor.

"Did he figure it out?" Taylor was disappointed, for short time she actually thought she's managed to get one over on her dad.

"Yeah. Afraid so."

"Unlucky! Sometimes I think he can read minds."

Jennifer giggled at the thought. "You could be right."

"How's your butt?"

"On fire. How's yours?"

"Same. I don't think I'm gonna have another go at shoplifting." Taylor blushed.

"I shouldn't have made you try it in the first place, I'm sorry."

"So you're gonna stop too?" Now she didn't feel quite so bad.

"Yes. No more stealing for me."

"Good. Jail's not nice. Hey, is dinner ready yet, I'm starving!"

"Nearly." Jennifer grinned mischievously at the smaller girl. "But you're not allowed to go down yet." Standing up she made her way over to the door.

"Why not?" They'd never starved her before.

"Your dad said if you beat me to it, there'd be nothing left for me!" Jennifer bolted towards the stairs.

Taylor was up from the bed in seconds and easily caught up with Jennifer. "Your'e funny aren't you!" Dodging past her, Taylor burst into to kitchen just before Jennifer, scaring the life out of her mother in the process. Only wearing socks on her feet, she performed a rather spectacular skid over the floor coming to a stop right in front of her dad.

He frowned down at her.

"Thought you were gonna warn me when you polished the floor!" Taylor complained.

"Thought you were gonna quit running in the house!" Jethro countered.

"Well I'm hungry. I'm tryin' to grow taller ya know!" She pulled out a chair and eased herself down onto it. "I'll never play basketball the way you feed me!"

Jennifer, feeling awkward, had stopped in the doorway, not sure if Taylor and her dad were arguing for real. If they were, Taylor didn't seem very concerned.

Jethro caught sight of her watching, and grinned over at her. "You'd better be hungry, I don't want an eight foot basketball player for a daughter." He nodded towards an empty chair.

Relaxing, Jennifer followed Taylor's example, gingerly lowering herself onto the seat. It was uncomfortable, but bearable.

"You're tall, do you play basketball?" Taylor was hoping Jennifer could give her a few tips.

"No, just hockey."

Taylor looked at her in awe. "You play hockey?"

Patricia knew exactly what Taylor was thinking. "Not ice hockey Taylor, field hockey."

"Oh! No fights then." She was disappointed, but it gave her an idea. "Dad? Shouldn't we take Jennifer to see a real hockey game?"

"You're grounded, remember?"

"I know, but I could tell her the rules. It's way different from field hockey."

Jethro thought for a moment. "How about we make a deal?"

"What sort of a deal?" Taylor asked suspiciously, eyes narrowing.

"If you behave yourself tomorrow night for Jennifer, we'll go to a game."

Jennifer, who had been watching Taylor, turned to Jethro is surprise. "You're still going to let me … " She almost said babysit but knowing just how much Taylor hated the term quickly changed it. "Stay with Taylor? Even after … you know…"

Patricia set the last of the food out and joined them at the table. "Don't you want to do it anymore?"

"I do, I just thought after today …." Shrugging she stared down at her plate.

"We trust you." Patricia looked towards her daughter skeptically. "It's Taylor we're worried about."

"Gee, thanks mom!" Taylor couldn't of been that offended by the comment, because she swallowed another mouthful of mashed potatoes before continuing. "I said I was gonna be good didn't I? Besides I wanna go see the Capitals."

"Just make sure you are." Jethro warned. "One bad report from Jennifer and you can stay with Tony and Cathy while we go the game."

O

As Jennifer lay in the dark she went over the day's events in her head. So much had happened it was hard to process it all. The shoplifting thing had been bad, but Patricia and Jethro seemed to have forgiven her for that, and even Taylor wasn't holding it against her. Watching the family though was bitter sweet. She loved the way Taylor, Patricia and Jethro were together, but it also reminded her of what she was missing out on. It didn't matter where she was, she was always on the outside looking in. Curling up on her side Jennifer tried to think of something else, she was not going to cry. Not this time. She thought about Taylor trying to explain the rules of ice hockey, using the salt and pepper to demonstrate offside and icing. It did sound like fun.

There was one thing she was going to have to do first though. Amanda was not going to be happy when she found out their little get together was cancelled, but there was no way she was going to screw up her babysitting tomorrow night. Not when Patricia and Jethro both trusted her. It was late notice but Amanda would just have to find somewhere else for her party.

o

Even Taylor was the perfect angel, not putting a foot wrong either at home or at school. Alright, she had to count to ten, three times in a row to stop herself taking a swing at Haley when she'd teased her during lunch, but she had managed to resist the temptation. Her mom had watched in amazement when she started her homework without any prompting, and put enough effort into it first time so that she didn't have to correct a single question. Taylor was not going to do anything to blow their chances of going to the hockey game. Unfortunately she was focusing so hard on the Capitals that Taylor didn't realise she was setting a dangerous precedent. Both her parents were now fully aware of how she was capable of behaving when she put her mind to it.

Friday night's babysitting passed without a hitch. Couple of DVDs, and a bowl of popcorn kept them occupied and by the time Jethro and Patricia returned home both girls were safely in bed. Patricia checked on them both before heading into their own bedroom.

"You think her parents would notice if we don't send Jennifer home?"

Jethro stuck his head out of the bathroom to answer. "It's not Jennifer we need to keep Taylor in line, it's the Washington Capitals, and I don't think we could stretch to that."

Patricia grinned. "You could be right. I was just clutching at straws. I know it's only been a couple of days, but Taylor's attitude has been so good. She was so quiet in school on today I found myself checking that she was still at her desk."

"Uh huh. The kid has to learn to behave whether there's a reward there or not Patricia." Jethro disappeared back into the bathroom again.

"I know." It was easier said than done though, Patricia thought.

"She's always had problems settling back into school in September, but it's been weeks now. Taylor has proven just how she can behave. There's no way we're going back to the battles over her schoolwork."

"You think she'll go for that?"

Jethro reappeared, toothbrush in his mouth. "Not giving her a choice."

Patricia: "You never know, come Monday the new improved Taylor might still be there."

Jethro: He grinned at Patricia's optimism. "You never know."

O

Saturday night at the game Jennifer was overwhelmed by the noise and atmosphere. It was strange watching thousands of adults shouting and yelling with each referee's decision or particularly rough check. No matter how much she wanted to join in, Jennifer couldn't bring herself to do it. Even when the gloves were dropped and a fight erupted just in front of them, she was too self conscious to raise her voice. Taylor had no such problem and Jennifer reckoned that if the boards weren't there the kid would have been onto the ice in no time trying to take a swing at the opposing player. As Jennifer watched Taylor her mind went back to the last time she had been that excited about something. She would have been about eleven or twelve, and during the summer holidays she had talked her mother into letting her have a sleep over. They had been having a great time, just hanging out, joking and watching a horror movie. That was when Jennifer had ruined everything. She knew her father was trying to read the paper, but she couldn't help it. Something in the movie made her jump and squeal. She couldn't even remember what it was now. Her two friends had giggled at her, but her father was up off the sofa and standing in front of where she was sitting on the floor in seconds. Jennifer had looked up at him just in time for his hand to make contact with her face. The tears had pooled up behind her eyes, but she was not going to give him the satisfaction of making her cry. Face blazing in embarrassment, Jennifer avoided the shocked glances from her friends by staring hard at the TV screen. She hadn't asked any of them back after that, in fact that was the last time she'd ever invited any one back to her home.

Taylor poked her giant foam finger into her ear and Jennifer pushed the memory out of her head. "Hey! I have one too you know!" She retaliated by swatting Taylor on the top of her head with her own. The whistle sounded and a grinning Taylor turned her attention back to the ice.

O

Sunday afternoon, Jennifer watched as Taylor re-enacted various parts of the game in the living room with the help of her hockey stick and the slippery wooden floor. Patricia, feet tucked under her, quietly read a book, unaffected by the noise Taylor was producing. It was becoming harder and harder to hide the shame and embarrassment she felt about the memory that kept popping back into her head. She needed to forget. Excusing herself, Jennifer retreated to her bedroom, even though she knew from previous experience it was never a good idea to be on her own when she was feeling like this. Curling up on her bed Jennifer stared at the makeup bag on the bedside table where she knew the razor blade was waiting. For the longest time she just stared. Knowing it was there made her feel a little bit more in control. Jennifer didn't want to do it. It had been quite a while since she had resorted to cutting herself but…. She sat up and reached for her cell phone. There was another way to stop herself thinking. Searching through the numbers, Jennifer stopped at Amanda and pressed the call button. If anyone was up for a good time it was Amanda, in the short time they'd been here, the girl had already managed to get a hold of fake IDs. A night on the town was just what she needed right now.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I know its been a long time since my last update, but there is light at the end of the tunnel now. Updates should be back to normal soon and I might even get the chance to read and review again and even answer my reviews. Roll on the summer!**

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 5**

Taylor had been in bed for almost two hours when Patricia gently shook her awake. Disorientated and still half asleep, Taylor sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Is it time to get up?"

"No. Jennifer hasn't come home yet. Did she tell you where she was going?"

"Just that she was meeting up with Amanda." Taylor lay down again and rolled away from her mom. "Why don't you just ring her? Number's in my phone."

Patricia tucked Taylor in again, and kissed her head before taking her phone from the bedside table.

Jethro was pacing up and down in front of the fireplace. "Well?"

Patricia shook her head. "She doesn't know anything. But now we have the number for her cell." Scrolling through the contacts, Patricia opened Jennifer's number and hit call. The phone didn't even ring, just went straight to voice mail. "Her phone's switched off Jethro. Looks like we just have to wait.

Waking up about four o'clock, Taylor made her way downstairs for a glass of water. She hesitated at the top of the stairs. The light in the kitchen was on. Someone was still up. Padding downstairs, she found her dad at the table.

Jethro looked up from his coffee. "What are you doing out of bed?"

Taylor headed straight for the sink and filled a glass. "Thirsty."

Nodding, Jethro pushed a chair out with his foot and waited for Taylor to sit down.

She took a long drink before speaking. "How come you're up?"

"Jennifer hasn't come home yet."

Taylor sounded surprised. "She hasn't?"

"No. You sure she didn't mention where she was going?"

"I already told mom I didn't know. Didn't you call her?"

Jethro took another sip of coffee. "Her phone was switched off."

"Oh." Taylor thought for a moment. "Did you call Amanda?"

"You have her number too?"

Taylor looked at her as if he had said something stupid. "No, but mom knows where Amanda is staying doesn't she?"

They hadn't thought of that. "You finished?" He pointed towards her glass.

Drying her mouth with the sleeve of her pyjamas she nodded. "Uh huh."

"Back to bed then." Jethro followed her up the stairs, tucking her in before going to wake Patricia. It was worth a shot. Even if Amanda wasn't there it meant that Jennifer wasn't out there somewhere on her own.

By breakfast, all attempts at finding Jennifer had failed. Amanda had arrived home before her ten o'clock curfew, and if she knew where her friend was she wasn't talking. Patricia had even resorted to calling local hospitals, but it was if she had just disappeared off the face of the earth. It had taken a lot of convincing on Jethro's part to get Patricia to go on to school, and even more convincing to get Taylor into the car. Even the slightest reason for missing school and kid would milk it for all it was worth. Jethro watched the car reverse out of the driveway before picking up the phone to make another round of phone calls.

-O-

Jennifer sighed with relief when she found the back door of the house unlocked. Tired and badly hungover, the idea of sitting outside waiting for the others to return did not appeal in the least. What she needed right now was water and sleep, lots of both. Then she could worry about what to say to Patricia and Jethro. Once inside Jennifer made a beeline for the sink, filling a tall glass with water and drinking it down in one go. Leaving the glass by the sink she turned and walked slap bang into Jethro.

"Shit!" The shock of the man appearing out of nowhere when she thought the house was empty made her heart skip a beat.

Jethro took a step back and pulled out a chair. "Sit. I think we need to talk, don't you?"

"Whatever! But not now. My head's killing me." She tried to pass him to get to the stairs, but either she was still drunk or Jethro kept moving to block her.

"I said SIT!" He'd had enough.

Jennifer lowered herself into the chair. "Alright, you don't have to shout." She tried rubbing her temples to ease her hadache.

Shaking his head Jethro retrieved a bottle of asprin from a cupboard and refilled her glass. "Here." He set them in front of her as he sat down."Where have you been?"

Swallowing the pills Jennifer shrugged. "Party went on a little longer than I thought it would."

"That's all you have to say for yourself?" He found it difficult to accept how unconcerned the kid was. It didn't seem to have crossed her mind just how worried they'd been.

"What do you want me to say?" Jennifer slowly spun the glass of water on the table top.

"Do you do this a lot?"

"Do what?" It was hard to think straight when your head was pounding.

"Stay out all night drinking." Jethro was close to losing his temper now.

"Now and again. It's no big deal."

"It is a big deal Jennifer. No one knew where you were, who you were with or what you were doing. What if you'd been hurt, or found yourself in a situation that you didn't want to be in?"

"Why should you care? I can look after myself!"

He stared at her in disbelief. "You're sixteen, in a foreign country and you get drunk at a party where I guarantee you didn't know most of the people there. THAT IS NOT LOOKING AFTER YOURSELF!"

Jennifer cringed. "Okay, maybe you have a point there, but all I ended up with was a hangover and ….."

Jethro interrupted before she could say anything more. "Oh you're gonna end up with a bit more than a hangover."

"What do you mean?" When Jennifer saw the look of determination on Jethro's face she immediately regretted asking that question. "You can't mean ….."

"I can. Now get your backside up to your room." Jennifer was still trying to process what he'd said. "NOW!"

Jumping at the command, Jennifer pushed the chair back and ran towards the stairs. Certain that Jethro was right behind her she didn't stop until the bed was in front of her and there was nowhere else to go. When Jennifer spun round to face him she found herself on her own. Relieved she dropped down onto the bed. He'd been bluffing! For a moment there she had actually thought he was going to spank her again. Jennifer almost laughed at the idea until Jethro appeared in the doorway, the belt in his hand clearly indicating that the man was not bluffing. He stared at her for a few seconds before closing the door behind him. It might have been the alcohol still in her system, but Jennifer couldn't seem to form any words. Her legs however had no problem functioning and she shot to her feet. Not that there was anywhere to go, to get to the door she would have to pass him, and Jennifer doubted very much that she would be allowed to get that far.

Jethro stopped just in front of her. "Its time you realised that your actions do affect other people. We were up all night worrying that you were somewhere, hurt and alone. Do you have any idea what it's like to have to call round hospitals to see if someone you care about has been admitted?"

Jennifer shook her head and took a step back, but the moment she moved, Jethro took her by the arm, and sat on the bed. There was some resistance there when he tried to pull her down and across his lap, but he was determined that this was going to happen. He brought the belt down on the seat of her jeans before Jennifer could start to struggle. Letting out a yelp she tried to shield her backside with her free hand. Quickly trapping it, Jethro didn't even break rhythm as he continued to apply hard licks. Wriggling had little effect on the accuracy of the swats and by the time he dropped the belt down on the bed, Jennifer had given up the struggle. Easing the girl to her feet Jethro also stood up. For the briefest moment, as he pulled her closer, Jennifer tensed, then relaxed and allowed herself to be comforted.

-O-

"Don't see why I gotta be stuck in here when Jennifer gets the day off." Taylor was still pissed at being sent to school.

Jared looked up from his geography book. "You really thought they were going to let you miss class?"

Taylor elbowed him. She knew it was a case of wishful thinking, but he didn't have to shoot it down. "Whose side are you on anyway?"

"Yours. Uh oh!" Jared had spotted Taylor's mom heading their way. Both kids dropped their heads down, studying the pages in front of them.

Patricia knelt down beside her daughter. "If you two don't settle down you'll find yourselves in detention."

Taylor narrowed her eyes and scowled, but wasn't going to risk saying anything she might regret.

Warning given, Patricia headed back to her desk, retrieved her phone from the drawer and stepped outside into the hallway. Hopefully Jethro would have some news on Jennifer by now.

A balled up piece of paper bounced off the back of Taylor's head and she spun round in her seat. Emily was smirking at her. "What the hell is your problem?"

"I'm not the one with the problem! Mommy mad at you today is she?"

"What's it to you?" Taylor demanded.

Emily shrugged. "Nothing."

Assuming that was the end of the matter Taylor turned back to Jared.

"Ignore her, she's an idiot Taylor." Jared grinned at her. "You have no idea where Jennifer could be?"

"She didn't tell me anything, but she was kinda quiet on Sunday." Another scrunched up piece of paper found the back of her head. Taylor lifted it off the floor, before throwing it back at Emily. "You do that again and I'll make you eat it!"

"Oh you got me real scared now! Maybe I should tell your mommy that you threatened me."

Taylor glared at the girl. "What are you waiting for? Go tell her!"

Emily just smiled at her.

Jared nudged her. "What did you do to piss her off?"

"No idea but if she does it again!" The door opened slightly as if Patricia was coming back in. The class immediately quietened, but Emily, seeing her chance to wind Taylor up without fear of retribution, threw another missile at her. Unfortunately for Emily the door closed again. Patricia was still outside.

Emily looked fearfully towards Taylor who was retrieving the paper ball from the floor then sprinted for the door. Flinging it open she raced past Taylor's mom and headed in the direction of the girls' bathroom. If she made it into one of the stalls she would be able to lock the door.

Assuming the kid was answering an extremely urgent call of nature, Patricia was unconcerned about Emily's sudden exit from the classroom. That was until an extremely angry Taylor flew out a few seconds later, sights set firmly on her fleeing classmate. Forgetting all about the phone in her hand, Patricia took off after her daughter.

Almost dreading what she was going to find, Patricia opened the door into the bathroom. Taylor was trying to climb over the partition into the stall where Emily was safely locked in. "TAYLOR! GET DOWN FROM THERE. NOW!"

Her mom's order barely registered as she tried to push herself over the dividing wall from her elevated position on the toilet. She would have managed it too if Patricia hadn't wrapped her arm around her waist and lifted her down. When she wasn't released Taylor began to wriggle, but Patricia held firm.

"Count to ten Taylor!"

"But she…"

"Do it!"

Taylor stopped struggling, and began to count. The closer she got to ten the more she realised this was not a good situation to be in. It was time for damage control. "You can let go now mom. I wasn't really gonna make her eat it."

Patricia relaxed her grip. "Emily, come out of there!" There was a little metallic click as the door was unlocked. Emily watched Taylor warily as she stepped out from the stall. "What happened?"

Emily pointed a Taylor. "She's a lunatic!"

"Am not! She kept doin' this." Taylor bounced the balled up paper off the side of Emily's head.

"That's enough Taylor! Emily, back to class. We'll talk about this at recess.

Taylor started to follow her, but Patricia grabbed her arm. "Not you." She turned Taylor round to face her. "What were you thinking Taylor? You know if you're involved in a fight that's an automatic suspension."

"Crap!"

Patricia actually thought she was getting through to the kid until Taylor opened her mouth again.

"If I'd known that I'd have hit her sooner!" Taylor heard a faint whistle and looked around, not sure where it was coming from.

Patricia raised the phone to her ear, ignoring the look of horror spreading across her daughter's face as she realised her dad had been on the phone the whole time. "Sorry I forgot you were still there."

"What's going on?" He'd heard everything, but still wasn't sure what had happened.

"I didn't mean that. I wouldn't have hit her." Scowling, Taylor folded her arms defensively.

"I'll let our daughter explain that when we get home." Patricia told him as she glared at Taylor.

"Ain't nothin' to explain!" If her mom thought she was gonna do that she was crazy.

"Oh you'll explain alright Taylor!" Patricia countered.

"Fine! I better give myself something to explain then!" Taylor bolted for the door. If she was already in trouble she might as well get the added bonus of a week off school.


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 6**

When Taylor flung herself at the door she met with unexpected resistance. There was a scream from the other side of the door as Taylor pushed her way through. Emily was lying sprawled out on her back on the floor hand held over her right eye. Taylor grinned down at her. It was a perfect example of karma. Emily hadn't returned to the classroom, choosing instead to eavesdrop on Taylor and her mom.

"Oops! Sorry Emily. Didn't see you there!"

Patricia burst through the door almost mowing her daughter down.

Emily scrambled to her feet. "You did that on purpose!"

"Did not! Mom she was listening through the door." Folding her arms Taylor smiled smugly at her new enemy.

"Taylor Gibbs you're a liar! I was not!"

"That's enough, both of you! That's two detentions you've racked up today."

Taylor spun round to face her mom. "NO WAY! THATS NOT FAIR!"

"Lower your voice Taylor." Patricia warned.

"Yeah, lower your voice like mommy says Taylor." It was Emily's turn to look smug.

Unfortunately for the girl her comment only served to remind Taylor of her initial reason for leaving the bathroom in such a hurry. Drawing back her fist Taylor aimed for Emily's uninjured eye. The impact made Emily stagger back, but she stayed on her feet. "That's better, tomorrow you're gonna look like a panda."

Taylor felt her mom grab the back of her shirt and pull her back to stop her taking another shot. It didn't matter. Taylor was done.

Emily was not. She lunged at Taylor, who was still being held in place, fist connecting with her lip.

Patricia now had a struggling girl in each hand. "ENOUGH!" The order stilled both of them. Without another word she marched both of them down the hallway to the principal's office.

The two girls sat in the outer office. Taylor with her split lip and Emily with rapidly darkening black eyes. The principal had not been impressed with either of them when Patricia had filled him in on what had happened. Taylor didn't care though. She'd got what she'd wanted, they were both suspended for the rest of the week. Emily was still crying, probably at the thought of the principal calling her mom. At least Emily would think twice about throwing things at her in future.

The novelty of being out of class was beginning to wear thin. There wasn't a whole lot of point in being suspended if she had to stay in school.

"We gotta wait here all day or what?" Taylor aimed her question at the secretary who peeked round her monitor to answer.

"You have to wait until your parents get here to take you home. Shouldn't be much longer now."

Taylor was confused. "Ermm newsflash, my mom's here. Remember?"

"Your mom has a class to teach. Your dad's picking you up." The woman disappeared behind her monitor again.

"But he's at work." Taylor clearly heard a tut coming from behind the computer. Mrs Wilkins was running out of patience at the interruptions.

"I don't know where he is, all I know is that your mom called him."

Crap! Taylor thought. Her mom had kept that quiet. She had thought there would have more time before the inevitable confrontation. Taylor's mind ran through the worst case scenarios. Now she felt like crying. If he smacked her in front of Emily she'd never live it down. Panic kicked in and Taylor shot to her feet. "I need to go to the bathroom."

Mrs Wilkins tutted again and stood up. "You're not allowed to go on your own. I have to go with you. At this rate I'll never get this report typed up."

Taylor could have stomped her foot in frustration. This place was worse than f*****g prison. Losing her temper right now was not going to help the situation. There was always the possibility that she could give her jailer the slip, so Taylor obediently followed her out into the hallway. They made it halfway along the long corridor when her dad appeared at the other end. Shaking off the urge to run in the opposite direction Taylor tried to remain calm. Even from this distance it was blatantly obvious he was not a happy man. Taylor dropped her head and forced herself to keep walking. She could feel his eyes burning into her as he got closer, then almost walked right into Mrs Wilkins when she stopped in front of her. Thankfully the woman spoke before Taylor had to.

"If you want to take a seat in the office Mr Gibbs, we'll be with you in a few minutes. Taylor needs to visit the bathroom."

"That's ok, I'll take her. I'm sure you have better things to do than stand guard over this one."

Taylor's head whipped up. There was no way she wanted to be left on her own with her dad, not here. He would have his own agenda and it wasn't her bladder he would be interested in.

"It's alright! I changed my mind."

The look he aimed at her told Taylor he hadn't changed his. "We won't be long."

With her dad's hand on the back of her neck, Taylor found herself being propelled towards the bathroom door and much to her annoyance there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop it from happening.

Jethro guided his daughter into the empty bathroom and closed the door behind them. He didn't waste any time turning her to the side and swatting her behind. Taylor yelped with each of the four powerful swats.

When he released her arm Taylor quickly backed up against the wall, butt stinging. She searched her mind for something to say that might make the situation seem not so bad, or more importantly anything that might calm him down. She came up with nothing, so decided to keep her mouth shut. It wasn't easy though, standing there in front of him when he had that steely glare locked on her, trying to make her feel guilty. It didn't take long for Taylor to crack. "You're mad huh?"

"What do you think?"

They both knew the answer to that one so there was no point answering. "Are we goin' home now?" Taylor glanced longingly towards the door.

"I have to speak to your principal first."

"Oh."

"What happened Taylor?"

"I didn't start it. Wasn't my fault."

He took a step closer and Taylor tried to sink into the wall.

"I heard you over the phone."

She shrugged. "So?"

"Don't test me Taylor, you know I'll spank you here if I have to."

If her skirt had pockets her hands would be in them. "Emily was pickin' on me."

"So you hit her?"

Taylor shook her head. "No. I was only gonna scare her. Would off worked too if mom hadn't screwed it up!"

"This is not your mom's fault!"

"Well it ain't mine either!" Taylor muttered under her breath.

"It's not? Your mom warned you what would happen if you got into a fight. A few seconds later you're fighting with Emily. Were you trying to get yourself suspended?"

That was the million dollar question and there was only one answer she wanted to give. "No." The bathroom was so quiet Taylor could hear the water gurgling through the pipes. He knew she was lying so she had nothing to lose. "It was just an added bonus."

For a moment Taylor was afraid her dad's head was actually going to explode. He must have been counting to ten because he didn't react. She started to count along with him in her head. Crap! He must have reached twenty before he spoke. That was not a good sign, but at least he hadn't smacked her again.

"Is there anything else I need to know before I go and talk to your principal?"

"Like what?" She hadn't done anything else had she?

"Have you done anything else I don't know about?" He still remembered clearly the last time Taylor had been suspended from school. The list of her crimes had been extensive, but the way his daughter had been able to hide them from him for so long had been just as bad.

"How could I? Mom would know."

Jethro nodded. She did have a point. "Okay, lets get this over with." Stepping back he nodded towards the door. Taylor hesitated, probably anticipating a swat as she passed him. Then moved past him quickly, hands strategically placed over her butt. As he followed her down the hallway he tried to figure out what he was going to do to make sure Taylor didn't repeat today's performance.

The state of Emily's face came as a bit of a shock to him. The ice pack that she held to one side and then the other, was making little difference to the rapidly coloured bruising. "You did that?"

Taylor, who had taken her seat again pointed to Emily's right eye. "Just that one. The other was karma."

"You liar you hit me with the door!" Emily was going to make sure Taylor got into as much trouble as possible.

The door to the principal's office opened and the man himself appeared holding a file. "Mr Gibbs?"

Jethro nodded and took a step towards the office, before stopping dead. Reaching out he grabbed Taylor's arm and pulled her up, before dragging her after him into the other room. He didn't trust her not to take another pop at Emily.

Principal Robinson looked over his glasses at Taylor. "It might be better if Taylor waits outside."

That suited Taylor just fine and she spun round, but her escape was foiled by a hand on her shoulder.

"Trust me, it's better if she stays in here." Jethro pointed to the corner of the room.

Taylor stared up at him, not quite believing what he wanted her do, but when he raised an eyebrow she quickly came to the conclusion it was in her best interest to do it anyway. She tried to distract herself from the conversation going on behind her by thinking about what the rest of the week would be like. Oh she knew her dad was gonna go nuts when they got home, but she pushed that out of her head. Neither her mom nor her dad would be able to take time off, and that meant she would be spending her time at NCIS. She'd be able to see Tony and Abby. That would be good, since changing schools she hadn't spent a lot of time there. Tony was bound to have some new games hidden on his computer, and even if she wasn't allowed up to see him she could always use one of Abby's computers to send him instant messages. It was too bad they hadn't suspended her for two weeks.

Jethro signed all the necessary forms and reassured Principal Robinson that there would not be a repeat performance from his daughter. He was just about to stand, when an idea hit him. "You wouldn't happen to have any substitute teachers on file who would be willing to tutor Taylor for the week?"

The word 'tutor' shocked Taylor out of her daydream. She spun round.

"Back in the corner Taylor." He warned without looking behind him.

Open mouthed, and wanting nothing more than to tell him exactly where he could stick his tutor. Taylor hesitated, then remembered what happened the last time she had pissed him off at school. She quickly turned to face the wall again. He wouldn't really do that would he? Maybe he was just trying to freak her out. If he was, it was working. The printer whirred to life and Taylor closed her eyes. Quite a few extremely nasty swear words flashed through her mind but they made no difference to what was going on in the room. The sheet of paper was safely tucked into the pocket of her dad's jacket when he took her hand and led her out of the office. For the first time that day Taylor began to regret getting herself suspended. She didn't even bother speaking to Emily who was crying again. Unfortunately Taylor had other priorities now. The most pressing was how she could avoid the spanking her dad was bound to give her once they made it home. Then she could start worrying about a tutor. If he went ahead with that dumb idea Taylor's whole plan would be a complete failure and she wasn't about to let that happen.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: I'm back to the hitec world of the internet. Sorry it took so long, and thanks for all your support and reviews.**

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 6**

As Taylor sat in the back seat of the car, it was idea of a tutor that filled her mind, not the amount of trouble she was in. The more she considered it, the angrier she got. By the time Taylor had followed her dad up the path and into the living room she was absolutely seething. Dropping her backpack onto the floor, Taylor kicked it towards the couch and started to pace.

Jethro watched in amazement as his daughter worked up a good head of steam, muttering to herself as she stalked up and down the room. It was perfectly clear Taylor had forgotten which one of them was in trouble.

Taylor stopped right in front of her dad and glared up at him. "No way!"

Folding his arms Jethro glared right back down at her. "No way what?"

Taylor: No way am I gonna get stuck with a tutor! "Its just, so … so …" Her hands went to her hips. "WRONG!"

Jethro kept a hold on his temper. "Oh it's happening Taylor."

"LIKE HELL IT IS!" Tempted to give him a good kick in the shins, she stomped her foot instead. It did not result in the reaction she had wanted, and as Taylor found herself being propelled towards the corner with a fresh sting in her butt, she regretted not kicking him when she had the chance.

"Stay there." He whispered into her ear, before retrieving the list of substitute teachers from his pocket and dropping down on the couch. Jethro waited a few moments to make sure that Taylor wasn't going to move, before reaching for the phone.

It didn't take long to find someone willing to take on some tutoring, and as Jethro made the arrangements he watched Taylor, still standing in the corner, become more and more agitated. By the time he set the phone down the kid was clenching and unclenching her fists. He left her there for another few minutes, giving her the opportunity to calm down while he made coffee.

Keeping her eyes tightly shut, Taylor had to force herself to stay where she was. It wasn't as if she had thought her dad had been bluffing, he rarely did that. But now it was set in stone and all Taylor wanted to do was stomp up the stairs, slam the bedroom door on the world, and lick her wounds.

Jethro sat down on the couch, cup in hand, and propped his feet up on the coffee table. "You can come out now."

Taylor clenched her fists again, but stayed put.

He raised his voice a little, thinking she hadn't heard. "You can come out now Taylor."

"I heard you the first time!" Taylor gave the skirting board a kick.

"So get over here!"

"No! I'm still mad at you!"

Jethro set his mug down. "YOU'RE mad at ME?"

"I just said that didn't I?" Taylor pulled her foot back again, then jumped when her dad whispered into her ear.

"Enough ….. with the kicking!"

Taylor stopped her foot just before it made contact.

Taking Taylor by the shoulders he turned her round to face him. "Explain."

Shrugging his hands off, Taylor spun back to the corner. "No!"

He resisted the urge to swat her backside. Instead, Jethro sat back down on the couch. "Fine. You can stand there for as long as you want. I can wait." For almost a minute there was no response from his daughter. Then she spun round and stomped over, stopping just in front of the coffee table.

"It ain't gonna work!"

"What isn't?"

"Your reverse …. reverse … " Taylor flung her arms into the air. "I can't remember what the hell you call it!"

"You mean reverse psychology?"

Taylor just glared at him.

"Looks like it worked to me. You're out of the corner."

"You think you're so smart don't you?"

"Taylor you better reign in that attitude and start talking or it won't just be your mom dealing with you when she gets home."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh I think you know exactly what I mean."

"But that ain't FAIR! You already wanna make my life hell with a dumb ass tutor when I'm suspended, and I'm gettin' a spanking too?"

"Why isn't that fair?" He set his coffee down.

Taylor stared at her father. "Are you serious? I got suspended that's supposed to be my punishment. You think Emily is gonna be stuck with a tutor? No she won't, even if she is the one who started it, and she sure as hell won't get spanked either! Why can't I just go to NCIS with you like I did before?"

"You mean when you handcuffed Abby in her lab?"

"I'm not gonna do that again!"

"No, you're not! That's why you'll be spending the rest of the week working here. Now you can get your books out and sit your backside down at the table. You're going to study until your mom gets home. "

Taylor shook her head and took a step back. "I'm not studying anything if mom's gonna start swinging that spoon."

Jethro let out a sigh as he got to his feet. "Last chance Taylor."

Her pride wanted to tell her dad to go to hell, but the way his hand was hovering over his belt buckle made Taylor swallow that pride pretty damn quickly. "Fine!" Picking the backpack up Taylor headed into the kitchen, this time dumping it onto the table instead of the floor. As she unpacked the books Taylor could sense her father watching from the doorway but wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of turning to look at him. Instead, Taylor counted to ten, sat down and opened the book at the top of the pile. Sighing as she glanced at the math problems, Taylor finally faced up to the fact that today had been a complete disaster.

**-O-**

Once he was sure that Taylor was settled at the table, Jethro headed upstairs to check on Jennifer. He knocked on the door before entering the bedroom. The kid was curled up on her side on the bed, but her eyes were open and she watched him warily.

"It's almost lunchtime, think you can hold down some food?"

"I'm not sure about the holding down part."

"It'll make you feel better."

"I know." Jennifer pushed herself up off the bed, carefully avoiding any contact with her bottom. "The hard part is forcing it down."

Jethro held his hand out. "Come on, it's worth a try. Then you can join Taylor at the table and catch up on some school work."

"Why is Taylor home?"

"Taylor decided to get herself suspended."

"Decided? You mean she did it on purpose?"

"Uh huh."

Jennifer studied his expression carefully. "You don't look angry."

"Oh I'm angry, but no matter how mad I am, it won't come close to how angry her mom is with her right now."

"Guess Patricia's not impressed with me either."

"You made a bad decision Jennifer, but you've been punished. All you have to do now is not make the same mistake again."

Jennifer lifted her school bag and followed him down the stairs to the kitchen. Taylor didn't look up from the sheet of paper she was doodling on. Jethro and Jennifer both realised why at the same moment, but it was Jethro who pulled the white earphones from Taylor's ears, making her jump.

"Hey! I was listening to that!" Taylor protested.

"You're supposed to be working!"

"It helps me think!"

Jethro held his hand out and Taylor relinquished the iPod. It was only then that Taylor noticed Jennifer was there.

"You made it home then?" Taylor grinned at her fellow prisoner. "Good party?"

"Ye …" Jennifer suddenly acutely aware of the warning look being aimed in her direction, quickly revised her answer. "No, it wasn't worth it."

Taylor wasn't fooled and glared at her dad. "You brainwashed her!"

Jethro rolled his eyes. "Study, both of you. I'm going to sort out lunch."

Taylor said the first thing that came into her head. "I'm not eating anything until you tell mom I've already been punished by being suspended and drop the whole tutor crap!"

"If you don't want to eat there's not much I can do about that." He grinned as he walked into the hallway, pulled out his phone and dialled. Jethro made sure Taylor heard him ordering a large pizza with pepperoni and extra pineapple. He was confident that his daughter's hunger strike wouldn't last long. The kid had an appetite like Tony and given the opportunity would eat pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Narrowing her eyes and scowling at her dad's back, Taylor managed to hold her tongue. She tried to figure out if he had ordered pizza just because she was refusing to eat. Her conclusion that he was just trying to win again, made Taylor more determined to stick to her guns.

Jennifer drew Taylor's attention from her father as she eased herself down onto the chair beside her. Embarrassed, Jennifer blushed. "Told you it wasn't worth it."

"He really let you have it huh?"

"Afraid so."

"Least you got it over with." Taylor looked out into the hallway to check her dad wasn't listening. "Mom's gonna kill me when she gets home."

"Did you really get suspended on purpose?"

Taylor nodded.

"Maybe Patricia will have calmed down by the time she gets home." Jennifer tried to reassure the younger girl.

"You're kidding, right? The moment she gets through the door she's gonna go straight for that spoon." Taylor nodded to the jar on the counter.

"You scared?"

Taylor shrugged. "Maybe."

Jennifer was confused. "If you knew what you mom would do, why did you get yourself suspended?"

"I already knew I was in trouble for chasing Emily, then mom made me mad."

"How'd she make you mad?

"Cause she didn't care that Emily was picking on me! All she was worried about was that I could have been suspended. I thought that if I was going to get a spanking anyway, I might as well get suspended. I was suspended before and got to go to NCIS with dad. Didn't work though, dad's getting me a tutor and Im probably gonna get spanked even harder now." Taylor fought back tears as she picked up her pencil. "I don't want to talk about it any more!"

Jethro had been sitting on the stairs, listening to the girls talking. It would have taken him a hell of a lot longer to get that information out of his daughter. He might still be angry with Taylor, but at least now he knew what was going on in that head of hers. Jethro waited for a few minutes, until he was sure the conversation in the kitchen was over, then headed back in. Both Taylor and Jennifer were working quietly, so he refilled his coffee mug and sat down at the far end of the table to wait for the food to arrive.

**-O-**

Taylor's stomach might have been rumbling but she refused to eat any of the pizza. The way her dad had placed the box directly in front of her was not helping. Taylor had to resort to actually working to avoid thinking about pepperoni and pineapple. As the afternoon progressed, Taylor thought less about how hungry she was, and more about her mom's impending return. Every now and again she would repeat the same series of visual checks. First the clock on the wall, then the spoon in the jar, the unlocked back door and finally her dad. Each time without fail, her hopes of escape were dashed. He was watching her like a hawk. Taylor doubted very much if she could make it to her feet before he would be beside her. She was still trying to work out how he could drink so much coffee and not need to use the bathroom when the front door slammed shut. Groaning, Taylor slid down in her chair. Her mom was home.


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

_AN: Thanks for all your reviews, they really help!_

**Chapter 8**

Jethro removed his glasses and set them on top of his newspaper. "You might want to take your books up to your room Jennifer."

Jennifer hastily gathered her things together, passing Patricia in the hallway. One glance at the woman's face and Jennifer understood why the kid was scared.

In an attempt to avoid looking at her mom, Taylor kept her eyes locked on her notebook. The sound of a chair being pulled out broke the silence, but only momentarily. The tirade that Taylor had been expecting the moment her mom came through the door was not forthcoming, and strangely Taylor thought that would be preferable to the tension in the room which seemed to grow as she waited for someone to speak.

"You really surpassed yourself this time, didn't you?" Patricia asked with disappointment, not anger in her voice. She was well aware that her daughter had pulled some stupid and even dangerous stunts in the past. This however was a first. Taylor's main intention when she had hit Emily had been to get herself into trouble. Patricia waited for a moment to see if Taylor was going to try and defend her actions, but the girl wouldn't even look at her. "What were you thinking?"

Taylor shrugged, but kept her head down. Why the hell couldn't her mom just get mad and yell?

Jethro knew Taylor wasn't going to start talking without a little push. "Taking a vow of silence as well as going on hunger strike?"

Taylor's head snapped up as she glared at him. "You're not funny!"

He folded his arms. "And you still haven't answered your mom."

"Ain't goin' to either." She pushed herself up a bit on the chair.

Now Patricia was even more confused. " I thought you would be anxious to justify your actions."

Taylor didn't take her eyes off her father. She didn't want to be the one to break eye contact, but like all her previous attempts she failed miserably.

When Taylor ignored her yet again Patricia looked towards her husband. He obviously knew something that she didn't.

Jethro figured it was time to let his wife in on what he'd overheard. "If you don't want to talk, you can go put your nose in the corner again." He turned to Patricia. "Coffee?" When Patricia nodded and Taylor didn't move, he killed two birds with one stone, easing his daughter out of her chair on his way to the coffee pot.

"Either you've been doing a lot of counting, or you know what's going on. So which one is it?" Patricia asked suspiciously.

Jethro filled the two cups and passed her one. "Both." He paused for a moment to blow on his coffee.

Patricia was getting impatient. "Well are you going to tell me, or do I have to make you stand in the corner?"

He sat down opposite her. "We already know Taylor threw the punch just to get suspended, but she also did it because she thinks that you don't care that Emily was picking on her."

"That's not true!" Patricia was shocked at the accusation. "I made sure the principal knew exactly why Taylor lost her temper."

"Taylor doesn't know that though. As far as she's concerned you were only worried about her getting into trouble with the school."

"That's why she won't even look at me?"

Jethro shrugged. "The only time she refuses to speak is when her feelings are hurt." He grinned. "The fact that you didn't come home shouting the odds and go straight for the wooden spoon probably confused her more."

"I was trying not to lose my temper." Patricia shook her head. "I had to count to one hundred before I even got out of the car." She thought for a moment. "What did you mean about a hunger strike?"

"Taylor's refusing to eat because we're going to punish her as well as the school. She even managed to resist pizza."

"Pizza? That's a first!" Patricia frowned. "What are we going to do? She stared at him. "You don't think we should let her get away with behaving like that?"

Jethro almost choked on his coffee. "Hell no! I just wanted to warn you about her change in tactics."

Patricia nodded. "I'll go talk to her." Standing, she turned towards the door.

"Don't you need this?" He lifted the wooden spoon from the jar and held it out towards her."

She shook her head. "Haven't decided yet."

"You want any backup?"

Patricia raised an eyebrow at the offer. "It's our daughter we're talking about here Jethro, not some criminal."

Jethro held his hands up as if surrendering and grinned. "Fair enough! She's all yours!"

Taylor heard someone entering the room and sighed. Same old crap again. She waited for the yelling to start. Instead she felt someone take her hand.

"Come over here, I want to talk to you." Patricia led her over to the couch. "Sit down."

"Don't wanna talk." Taylor pouted. "If you're gonna spank me, just do it will you? I want to go to bed."

Patricia hardened her voice a little. "If you don't want to talk, you can listen. Now sit down."

Taylor tried go give the impression that she didn't care. She shrugged before throwing herself down and crossing her arms. "Whatever!"

Resisting the urge to swat her, Patricia sat down beside Taylor. "I want to explain what happened today."

Despite her resolution not to look at her mom, Taylor did. Wasn't it supposed to be her explaining how she'd screwed up?

"I know that Emily was picking on you, and I was going to talk to both of you at recess to make sure it didn't happen again. Maybe I should have told you that when we were in the bathroom, but I had left the rest of the class unattended for too long already at that point. I'm sorry if you thought that I didn't care that you were being bullied. I do care, that's why I made sure the principal knew exactly what had happened. Emily was given an official warning and an extra three day's suspension."

For the past few hours Taylor had been clinging to her feelings of anger and betrayal in an effort to justify her actions. Now they were slipping away and guilt began to take their place. She looked down at her hands.

Satisfied that Taylor was taking in what she's said, Patricia continued. "That's how I messed up, now we can move onto you. You were wrong when you chased Emily into the bathroom, but I understand why you were angry with her. But look how easy it was for you to take control of your temper when you counted to ten. If you'd made the effort to calm down earlier you probably wouldn't be in trouble, and I wouldn't have to spank you now."

Taylor found her tongue. "You don't have to." She looked up hopefully at her mom, it was worth a shot.

Patricia took Taylor's hand. "Taylor, you know the way it works. What sort of a mom would I be if I let you get away with behaving like that?

"The best ever?" Taylor ventured.

"Taylor, you know we only punish you because we love you."

"That doesn't make my butt feel any better. Besides I got suspended remember, that's a punishment." Scowling, Taylor picked at a loose thread on her skirt.

"You hit Emily to get yourself suspended Taylor, so that doesn't count."

Taylor pouted. "Does the tutor count?"

"Thats to stop you falling behind with your school work. Now come on, lets get this over with."

Shaking her head as she stood up, Taylor tried desperately to think of a way out.

"Taylor…"

Searching deep inside, Taylor found the last remanent of her temper. "No!"

In the kitchen Jethro moved a little closer to the door, just in case he would have to step in, but when his wife spoke again he relaxed and smiled to himself. She had everything under control.

Patricia remained calm. "If you're not over my knee by the time I count to three I'm going to make you fetch the spoon. One!"

Crap! Taylor had always absolutely hated it when her dad counted like that. Hearing it from her mom did nothing to change her opinion on the subject. "Mom! Will you quit counting! It ain't gonna work!"

Ignoring the order Patricia kept going. "Two!"

Taylor wasn't sure how it worked, but someone counting like that always seemed to freeze her brain, giving her little chance of coming up with a way out." Fine! Moving to her mom's right side she reluctantly lowered herself across her lap.

Taylor hated herself for giving in so easily, but she hated that damn spoon even more. This was the first time her mom had ever spanked her without it. She was just trying to decide if this was a a good thing when her mom's hand slapped the bare skin at the top of her thighs. Flamin' skirt! Taylor hadn't even felt it being moved out of the way. There was a lot to be said for pants. Gritting her teeth, Taylor tried hard not to cry out, and actually managed to stay silent.

When Taylor failed to react, Patricia increased the force of the slaps.

Taylor yelped and began to squirm as the heat built up steadily in her backside. "That's enough mom, I get it!"

"Get what?" Patricia kept spanking.

"Count before ….OWW! I lose my temper!"

"How many times have you told us that before?" Patricia asked.

Crap! Taylor scanned her memory, then, considering the large number, decided against an accurate answer. "I can't remember! Enough mom!"

Taylor was trying hard to avoid the stinging swats, and would have said anything to make it stop, even for just a few moments. "I already told you I got it! Now let me UP!

Patricia hooked her thumb into the waistband of Taylor's panties and bared her. Her daughter immediately tried to buck herself off her lap. "You're losing your temper right now Taylor." She told her calmly.

"I'm not! You're hurting me! What the fuck do you expect me to do?

The smacks stopped, and Taylor let out a relieved sigh. This time when she tried to stand Patricia didn't stop her. Fixing her underwear Taylor forced herself not to rub, she could do that when she got to her room. "Can I go now?"

Patricia scanned Taylor's face to see if the kid was serious. She was. Patricia nodded and Taylor turned towards the hallway. "You can go and fetch the spoon."

Taylor spun back round. "What?"

"Go fetch the spoon." Patricia calmly repeated the order.

"No way!"

"Taylor!" Patricia warned.

"What for? You just spanked me! There's no way I'm gonna let you do it again!" Taylor had found her righteous indignation again.

Jethro moved into the doorway but didn't interfere.

"You lost it again Taylor. Don't you even realise what you said?"

Taylor did a mental rewind. Crap! "It's just a word! I can think of a lot worse, like…. like …..TUTOR!"

"Spoon." Patricia warned.

Stepping back, Taylor shook her head. She'd taken enough of this crap already. It was time to make a stand. "NO! NO SPOON! NO Tutor! NO MORE BULLSHIT!" For a fraction of a second saying that felt so satisfying, then the reality of the situation kicked in. Taylor bolted towards the stairs.

Feet barely touching the steps, Taylor almost flew up the stairs. Instead of seeking refuge in her own room she sped on past, and burst in through Jennifer's bedroom door.

Jennifer who was sitting on the edge of the bed, jumped at the sudden intrusion, razor blade dropping to the floor.

Taylor stopped dead in the middle of the room. She heard her dad thunder up the stairs and into the room behind her, but her feet wouldn't move. Transfixed by the blood trickling down Jennifer's arm, Taylor could only stare in horror.


	9. Chapter 9

**_AN: Sorry it's taken so long. Thanks for all the reviews and emails, i really appreciate them._**

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 9**

Eyes still locked on the blood, Taylor instinctively stepped back until she made contact with her dad. The sudden grip on her collar didn't even make her flinch, but it did make her look away from Jennifer and look up at him instead.

Jethro leant down and whispered into her ear. "Go get your mom."

Taylor nodded, took one last look at Jennifer, then raced downstairs. Patricia was standing in the middle of the living room, arms folded. She looked so mad, Taylor almost forgot what she was there for. "Dad needs you. Jennifer's hurt."

Not quite sure whether or not to believe her, Patricia took Taylor's hand and dragged her daughter up the stairs behind her.

"I ain't lyin' mom!" Taylor protested at the indignity of not being believed.

Patricia saw Jethro sitting beside Jennifer on the bed and the blood stain on her sleeve.

"Told ya!" Taylor proclaimed, then found herself being spun round and propelled into her own room.

"Stay there!" Closing the door, Patricia went to fetch the first aid kit from the bathroom.

Taylor threw herself face down on her bed. Not even a thank you! Or a sorry I didn't trust ya Taylor! Reaching back she gingerly rubbed her butt. Least her dad hadn't walloped her. Rolling onto her side Taylor curled up and thought about Jennifer.

oOo

"Can I see your arm?" He asked softly.

Jennifer shook her head. "Just leave me alone. I'm fine."

"Please, I just need to make sure you don't need stitches." There was a lot of blood seeping through the white cotton.

"I don't. I just wanna be on my own." Jennifer was trying hard to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall. Right now all she wanted to do was switch the light off and curl up on the bed, before she got the urge to cut again.

Patricia, first aid box in hand, reached for the blade on the floor.

Jennifer couldn't take her eyes off the small metal object that meant so much to her. Patricia examined it for rust before setting it on the bedside table. "It was a new blade?

"Yes." Jennifer was confused. "Aren't you angry?"

"No. I'm going to roll your sleeve up, okay?" Patricia opened the first aid box when Jennifer nodded.

Patricia looked over at her husband. "Taylor's in her room Jethro."

Taking the hint, Jethro left the two alone. Patricia seemed to know what to do and say. He was out of his depth as far as Jennifer was concerned, but he did know how to deal with his daughter.

As she cleaned up the cut, Patricia didn't mention the other scars that were now visible. "Do you want to talk?"

Jennifer shook her head.

"Are you upset because Jethro spanked you?"

Jennifer shook her head again.

"Feeling homesick?"

Another shake of Jennifer's head. Patricia didn't want to push her away by asking too many questions, so left it there for now.

The cut did not need stitches and was now covered by a bandage. Pushing herself up off the floor she sat down beside Jennifer. Patricia had attended a course on self harm as part of her teacher training. Saying or doing the wrong thing right now, could have disastrous consequences. Patricia was well aware that she was going to have to leave the razor blade, no matter how much she wanted to take it away. At the moment it was Jennifer's only form of coping with what ever was gong on in her Patricia did the only thing she could think of. She put her arm around the girl and just held her, without saying anything.

At first Jennifer cried, then began to relax a little as she became used to being held. It was not something that happened often. She couldn't remember the last time her mother or father had hugged her. Exhausted and emotionally drained, Jennifer closed her eyes and fell asleep in Patricia's arms.

oOo

Taylor looked over at him when he opened her bedroom door. He didn't go in, instead he crooked his finger at her. "With me!" Finally accepting there was no escape from her fate. Taylor groaned and pushed herself up off her bed and followed him downstairs.

Not keen on sitting down, Taylor stood nervously in the centre of the room and tried to figure out how much madder she had made him by running. It wasn't easy, he was just standing in front of her, arms folded and saying nothing.

Taylor lasted about two minutes, trying not to squirm under his gaze. Then she had to speak. "What are you waiting for?

What do you think I'm waiting for?

She shrugged. Taylor didn't really want to think about what might be about to happen.

Jethro stepped back and nodded towards the kitchen. "Go get the spoon Taylor."

This time Taylor stepped back. "But mom isn't here!"

"I'm getting really tired of this Taylor. Go get it. NOW!"

Not liking the raised voice or the dangerous glint in his eye she edged carefully past her dad and into the kitchen to fetch the wooden spoon. He was still in the same place when she returned. "He held his hand out and Taylor set the spoon onto it."

"Now why couldn't you have done that earlier when your mom asked, and not made it harder on yourself"

Taylor shuffled her feet and stared at the floor. "My butt was already sore and I panicked." Her head shot up." Wait! What do ya mean harder?"

"You swore, disobeyed your mom and you ran. Do you understand what I mean by harder now? You think I can just let you get away with that?"

"Well you wouldn't like it if someone was tryin' to set your ass on fire!"

He folded his arms, so he wouldn't be tempted to strangle her. "Whose fault is that? It wasn't your mom's fault you decided to get yourself suspended."

Taylor chewed on her lip. "Can't we make a deal?"

"You know I don't make deals Taylor."

Taylor wasn't giving up that easily. "If you don't spank me I'll be good for the tutor."

"And if I do spank you?" He was curious about what she was planning.

She shrugged. "I'll make sure they don't want to stay. You wouldn't want to waste all that money would ya?"

Outwardly he remained calm. "Is that a threat?"

"Maybe." When her dad's eyes darkened Taylor took an involuntary step back. "I take it thats a no on the deal?"

"Uh huh." Jethro sat down on the arm of the couch. "Over here."

Taylor put on a brave face as she walked over to him. "Fine! Just don't try and tell me I didn't warn ya!"

Jethro grabbed his daughter as soon as was close enough and pulled her to his right side. He'd had enough of all the stalling. "Now you listen up Taylor. You'll accept your punishment, believe me its well deserved. As for the tutor, either you behave and do what you're asked to do or you'll just end up back over my knee again, and trust me Taylor you do not want that to happen."

Taylor tried to pull away, suddenly aware she might have made things worse. Instead of moving away she found herself lifted across his lap and her skirt flipped up. "Wait! This ain't fair! It's supposed to be mom spanking me not you! OWWW!" The spoon cracked off her backside. OWWWW! "DAD! Mom doesn't OWWW! Hit that HARD!

'You should have thought of that earlier when she asked you to get the spoon." Instead of easing up he spanked faster.

Not knowing where the spoon was going to land next, Taylor began to kick and wriggle, then managed to get a hold of the couch. She pulled herself forward and would have landed on the floor if her dad hadn't dropped the spoon and grabbed her round the waist. At least the smacks had stopped and Tay found herself on her feet again and facing her father.

"Are you trying to hurt yourself? Jethro demanded. He had only just caught her in time.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Taylor scowled at him. "I wasn't trying to hurt me, you were!

Jethro reached down and picked up the spoon, before moving from the arm of the couch to the seat cushion. 'Back over!"

Taylor started to cry harder. Well aware that her dad wasn't going to take any more from her, she obeyed the order, and put her butt into the firing line again. Only four more spanks landed before he stood her up in front of him. "Are we done?

"That depends." Standing up he put his hands on her shoulders and guided her into the kitchen. "Sit down."

"You're kidding! Right?"

Jethro opened the fridge. "Nope. Sit!"

"But …"

He peered round the fridge door at her. "We can always go back into the living room and discuss it further."

Taylor lowered herself onto the wooden chair and tried to shift her weight to find a comfortable position. It was no use. Her butt was still blazing.

Satisfied she was going to stay put, he took out the left over pizza and dropped it in front of her. "Eat!"

Opening her mouth to remind her dad that she was on hunger strike, Taylor changed her mind and opted for the less confrontational "I'm not hungry." Her stomach however did not agree with her statement, and growled loudly.

Jethro shrugged, and when he reached for the wooden spoon Taylor picked up a slice of pizza and bit into it. Satisfied, he poured himself some coffee and sat down opposite her. For someone who wasn't hungry, the kid was putting it away fast enough. The stubborn streak was still there though, he was certain Taylor wanted the last remaining slice, but she was still trying to make a point. It was one Jethro was determined not to let her make. "All of it!"

Taylor gave him a token glare before devouring the second piece almost as fast as the first. The whole hunger strike thing hadn't been as easy or effective as she had hoped. Now that her stomach wasn't screaming at her anymore, the throbbing in her backside seemed to return with a vengeance. "Can I go now?"

"Sure! Go put your pyjamas on, I'll be up in a few minutes to tuck you in." He watched her glance at the clock. It was barely seven, and he was expecting his daughter to protest. But it looked as if Taylor had had enough arguing for one day She left the kitchen and headed for the stairs without a single word of complaint. Jethro gave her ten minutes before following her upstairs. He found her in her pyjamas, elbows on the window sill, looking out.

"What are you watching?" He asked as he made his way over to her.

"Nothing, just thinking!" Taylor turned to face him and wrapped her arms around him. "Did Jennifer hurt herself on purpose?"

Jethro was not going to lie to her. "I think so yes."

"Why?"

"Only Jennifer knows that." Jethro tapped her under the chin to make sure she looked up at him. "Don't you go bugging her with questions. Jennifer won't want to talk about it, and I don't want you upsetting her. Understood?"

"Yeah, okay." Taylor was quiet for a moment. "Do ya think mom's still mad at me?"

"You know how seriously your mom takes your education. She's not happy that you were suspended. Now come on, into bed."

"I know. Ya just had to marry a teacher didn't ya!" Taylor climbed onto the bed and made herself comfortable on her tummy. Jethro pulled the covers over her, and tucked her in. Taylor mumbled, already becoming drowsy as her dad rubbed her back. "Couldn't have picked a bus driver or a bank robber. No…. You pick a teacher!"


End file.
